As the temps are set to really heat up this week, a lot of the fish in my local streams are going to bite the dust soon. I was wondering if any of you had any recipes for smoking trout? My buddy just received one and we were going to give it a go around. I haven't killed a fish in many years and he was mad that I didn't keep a limit this time out. any tips or methods would be awesome thanks

I really like smoked trout but have had mixed results preparing them in my smoker. It really helps, in my experience, if you have fillets rather than whole fish. Many of the trout I harvest are pretty small for filleting and you get very little meat this way. However, when I have smoked 'em whole they come out dry and quite hard and separating the meat from the bones is difficult.

Tastes great but I've found them to be more trouble than they're worth. Hopefully, someone with more experience and a good recipe for doing this will chime in.

Ok sweet, Gone Phishin you can PM it to me if you'd like or whatever. I know they taste like whale blubber fried so I though maybe it would make the meat more dry but idk. Thanks guys, I know of a couple nice ones I plan on taking from a local DALO if I don't get to them before the herons. Theyre to big to holdover with the heat and limited food in the winter.

Yep. Alder and Hickory have turned out the best when I have done demos. Hickorys kinda like bacon though, you could add it to a turd and make it taste good.Also the brine soak has made a difference and improved the compliments I would recieve.

Yep. Alder and Hickory have turned out the best when I have done demos. Hickorys kinda like bacon though, you could add it to a turd and make it taste good.Also the brine soak has made a difference and improved the compliments I would recieve.

I agree, brining helps, but a good cure using plenty of kosher salt will do just as well. The salt extracts moisture from the fish and when combined with some good seasoning, makes for some very tasty fish.

I use a mixture of kosher salt, brown sugar and black pepper. Other ingredients in a good rub might include some paprika, cyan pepper, etc. Look online for some recipes. There're plenty out there.

I have been smoking trout for over thirty years and like too keep it simple. I like to use Kosher salt and brown sugar about 3-1 sugar to salt. Traditional brine was always 50/50 but I find that too salty for my palate these days. Anyway I usually mix hot water with salt, sugar, a little pepper and dill and brine overnight; using whole fish; small to medium 10-14" are easiest and if you can do a batch that are close to the same size, so much the better. I prefer apple bark and twigs; it's free for me and not too strong. Let the fish sit for a hour in the smoker or out in the air before you start. As mentioned above if you use hickory it will overpower just about anything. I usually run six batches or so of bark and rotate the racks. They will get a nice golden color when done, make sure you have some fresh bagels and cream cheese handy!